Japan among five candidate countries to test Uber flying taxi
Ride-hailing giant aims to launch service by 2023
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Uber will choose from five countries including Japan to test its flying taxi services, aiming to launch the commercial operation in five years.
The other candidate countries are Australia, Brazil, France and India, the company said. The selection will be finalised within six months and demonstrator flights are planned to start in 2020.
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Uber picked the five countries based on such criteria as population and lack of extreme weather. The US firm said Japan is one of the countries with the most advanced public transport systems.
With already chosen Dallas and Los Angeles, the three cities will be the first to host Uber’s test of flying taxi services.
Barney Harford, chief operating officer of Uber, said in Tokyo that its flying taxi, or uberAIR, will be a new efficient means of transport which will save time.
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The company plans to develop electric flying cars which could take off and land vertically with its top speed at 320kp/h at the altitude of 300 to 600 metres. The vehicle would fly up to 96km on a single charge.
Japan has backed up developing flying cars and launched a public-private council, hoping the new vehicle will play a role in mountainous areas and remote islands as well as in the event of natural disasters.
The council held its first meeting on Wednesday, joined by more than 20 experts and businesses including ANA Holdings Inc, Subaru and Uber, with the aim of drawing up a road map within a year and putting flying cars into practical use in the 2020s.
